MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension of travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the highly infectious variant of COVID-19.

The Philippines presidential spokesman announced tonight that the country’s government has extended the travel ban on all inbound travelers arriving from Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until June 30, 2021.

In a statement, the official said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension of travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the highly infectious variant of COVID-19.

The Philippines initially imposed travel restrictions on India from April 29 due to the COVID-19 surge in that country. It widened the ban to include travelers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from May 7.

The Philippines also banned international arrivals from Oman and the UAE on May 15 after overseas Filipino workers that flew in from these countries tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first found in India.

The Philippines has reported 1,322,053 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday, including 22,845 deaths.

(with inputs from Agencies)